The House Guest by Mark Edwards(18)

Jack came back downstairs with a pair of laptops under his arms. ‘They need charging,’ he said. ‘We’ll have to wait—’

Mona shushed him with a gesture, then sat beside me. ‘Remind us when you last saw her.’

‘Friday night, like I said.’ I tried to keep the impatience out of my voice. ‘I slept through most of Saturday but she wasn’t here when I woke up. She’s not answering her phone or responding to messages. And now it’s Sunday morning and she’s still not back.’

‘Did she have any plans yesterday?’

‘Yeah, rehearsals.’

‘On a Saturday?’

‘Yeah. They do six days a week. Sally Klay would have them working seven if she could.’

‘And do you know if she turned up for the rehearsal? Can you find out?’

I thought about it. I didn’t have Sally Klay’s contact details. And when I’d bumped into Cara a few days ago I had given her my number but hadn’t taken hers. I wasn’t friends with any of the actors on Facebook.

‘No,’ I said, explaining the situation.

‘I take it her phone isn’t here?’ Jack asked. ‘Or does she have a laptop or tablet with Sally’s contact info?’

‘Her phone’s not here.’ I had kept an eye out for it while cleaning the house. ‘She doesn’t have a tablet. But her MacBook should be in our room.’

I ran upstairs and checked the bedroom. I knew the password for her computer and knew that if she had stayed logged in to social media I would be able to message Cara and some of the other cast members using Ruth’s accounts. Sally’s contact details would be on there too.

But there was no sign of her computer. I searched the obvious spots, looked under the pillows, even got down on my hands and knees and peered beneath the bed. I opened the drawers where she kept her clothes and searched the wardrobe. I checked inside her empty suitcase. It wasn’t there.

While I was in the room, I had a look round, trying to ascertain if anything else was missing. A thought struck me, and I rummaged through the wardrobe again and checked the laundry basket.

I went back downstairs.

‘There’s no sign of her MacBook. I also think the clothes she was wearing on Friday night are missing too.’ I could picture her clearly; she’d been wearing a black playsuit with a scoop neck and buttons up the front. I described it.

‘I can’t believe she’d have gone to her rehearsal in the same outfit she’d worn the day before. She would never go near Sally if she wasn’t wearing clean clothes. It had got wet in the rain and she must have reeked of alcohol and Japanese food. There’s no way she would have gone out without showering and getting changed.’

Jack tried to suppress a yawn. ‘Sorry. I’m not bored. Far fucking from it. I’ve just been awake since yesterday morning. And I was expecting to be able to go for a nap when we got back. I wasn’t expecting any of this. Some woman turning up and staying here, pretending to know us.’ Almost as an afterthought, he added, ‘And Ruth going AWOL, of course.’

‘Maybe we should call Dennis,’ Mona said.

‘Who’s Dennis?’ I asked.

‘He’s a detective,’ Mona replied. ‘Brooklyn PD. He lives nearby.’

‘You’re friends with a detective?’

‘We met him through the local residents’ association.’ She turned to Jack. ‘We should definitely call him.’

The room was beginning to spin. It wasn’t just the stress. My body was still recovering from the hangover that had wiped me out yesterday. I had barely eaten all day, my sleep pattern was seriously screwed up and I was dehydrated. It must have shown, because Mona said, ‘Perhaps you should lie down.’

‘I can’t. I need to find out what’s going on. And what if Ruth calls?’

‘One of us will answer the phone.’

I really didn’t want to. But my body had other ideas. Mona moved aside and let me lie down. I closed my eyes and heard her say something about a glass of water.



I didn’t wake up till lunchtime.

As soon as I opened my eyes, seeing Jack sitting at the table in the window with his laptop in front of him, I said, ‘Is she back? Is Ruth back?’

‘Afraid not. Mona’s upstairs, taking a nap. I said I’d keep watch till you woke up.’

I sat up. My headache was back and I took a long drink from the glass Mona had left beside me on the coffee table.

Jack studied me. ‘You need some Advil?’

‘Yes. Please.’

He went into the kitchen and came back with a couple of pills, which he handed to me. He sat back down at the table and watched as I swallowed the tablets.

‘This is a messed-up situation, huh?’ he said.

‘That’s one way of putting it.’

‘I’ve been racking my brains, trying to remember if I ever met anyone called Eden. Apparently it can be a girl or boy’s name, but I’m sure I’ve never met anyone called that. It just seems so crazy. Someone turning up and saying they know us. I’m hoping it’s all a mix-up or misunderstanding. That we do know her but can’t remember her.’

‘Except she deleted the photos I took of her.’

‘Yeah. Although Mona often deletes photos I take of her if she thinks they make her look old or fat or whatever. Hell, I do it too.’